So excited..... oh my goodness....

I made my first Etsy sale!

(takes deep breath to steady self)

Oh yeah, I am bouncing off the walls here in the office...I want to go out and celebrate. Who knew how a little bitty $12.60 sale (she used the coupon code) could make me feel so good?

I'll post more about it later but HOORAY!!!!! I FINALLY FEEL LIKE A REAL FREAKING ARTISTAN!

...and a paid artisan at that.... ;D

I was dreaming of a .... brown... Christmas?

Well, not really, but that's what we got. Not such a travesty for me, but I know Richard was really looking forward to a bit of snow and so far this year has been fairly snow free. I do admit though that Christmas just doesn't seem as, well, Christmasy without a bit of snow on the ground.

Christmas eve was nice.... we didn't do anything special, but Richard ended up working just half his shift before he was sent home because there just wasn't enough tech support calls coming in to support a full crew. We watched "Holiday Inn" and "Muppet Christmas Carol" and went to bed at a decent time. Woke up at 6:30 on Christmas and since neither of us can really get back to sleep once we're up we decided to stay up and just start the day.... so much for sleeping in!

Presents were passed out, and I think we were both pleasantly surprised... we especially loved the family gift exchange presents we received from Miya and Roy. We ended up taking a brief nap that afternoon and then started cleaning up because we had friends coming over for dinner. I did kick myself a bit though since I had plans to make a batch of root beer float fudge (well, try it anyway) along with a normal batch of fudge and homemade caramels to give away.... and didn't make any of them! Bad me... especially since I bought cream and stuff to make them with!!!!

It was nice being able to visit with my old roommate and her son and daughter-in-law, and dinner was pretty good as well, though my candied yams failed miserably.... I apparently ran out of brown sugar without realizing it and decided to try using maple syrup (not pure maple syrup but the cheap crap and you could tell). Luckily the ham and everything else turned out lovely, because Richard and I will be eating leftovers for the next few days! So in about half an hour I need to zip into the kitchen and start making a homemade au gratin potatoes and ham casserole for when Richard comes home.

Today I had plans to do a bit of stitching... I made and gave away a wedding sampler for Christmas that I am just in love with and want to make for our home as well. It was lovely being able to wind down my evenings with needlework every evening. Silly me failed to take a picture of it before I wrapped and sent it off though! I have a couple of designs I have drawn up and, now that I am not under a time constraint, I want to try stitching them. I have about half of the office/craft room unpacked and have found a bunch of my embroidery floss (plus, Richard bought me a 150 skein pack of floss for my stocking!) and I have a bunch of Aida cloth that came from my stepmother's old stash so I certainly have some great supplies to play with. I will have to run to the fabric store in the next couple of days and buy more linen... the wedding sampler was my first piece stitched on linen and I don't think I want to ever go back to Aida cloth again (its okay if you didn't understand that) Aida has its place, but I really did fall in love with the look of a piece stitched on linen.

Whoa.... this suddenly turned into a crafting post!

So today has just been a nice day to unwind for me... cleaned the kitchen up from yesterday but that's about it (since we gave the apartment a great clean yesterday). I played a few things on Netflix ("The Girl Who Played With Fire"/"The Girl Who Kicked A Hornets Nest" and a few episodes of "Ramsays Kitchen Nightmares") while I read a book I got for Christmas about selling crafts online with a cat passed out on my lap. The book has some great ideas for your own site as well as on Etsy, and, first step, my shop name has changed from fiftytwo to FiftyTwoPhotography.... since its a photography shop then the author suggests that, hey, I mention what it is that I sell there! We'll see how it goes. It would be nice to finally make a sale on that site.... goodness knows my prices are beyond reasonable and I wouldn't even make anything really from it (given I've been paying listing fees for over a year now). Still considering giving up the photography site because I don't think people are buying much in the way of photographs right now. I will be starting a new Etsy site for crafts in the year to come.... fingers crossed!

Tonight will probably be an early bedtime for me, since I was up at 4:30 this morning... I go back to work in the morning, so I will definitely need to get some sleep! I think Richard is planning to watch some episodes of "Smallville" when he gets home (I got him hooked on the show.... we're now midway through season two). Otherwise it will be a nice and quiet evening (which I love).

The forecast for the next 10 days is in the low 40s and no snow.... poor Richard! It looks as if his New Year is also going to start off brown. We're planning to stay home anyway and have a bit of a Doctor Who marathon for the weekend, but it would be nice to see a bit of snow anyway. I may have to drive Richard up to Sundance so he can play in it a bit... our one evening of snow just got him excited to see more of the white stuff.

I hope you all had a very Merry Christmas and that the New Year to come will be full of joy and wonder....

All my love....

Shawna

Etsy, Etsy, Etsy....

No sales, but still Treasured....

Utah Lake in Orange can be found here and made it into the #1 position....and Old Bolt made it into this gorgeous Treasury listing...its bottom row, second from the right. Various photos of mine have been favorited by a lot of different people though, and my shop has already been favorited 26 times (and no, its not all by family members!) Girl is feeling the love.....

In other news, I have been accepted as the Monday morning blogger for the Female Photographers of Etsy (fPoE) group....I'll include a link to the blog when my first post goes up a week from this Monday. Its a montage (Mosaic Monday is the name) of photos from various group members, all surrounding whatever theme I decide on. I'm really excited for this!!!!! Not only is this a way to expand my blog base, but the more groups and activities I can get into on Etsy, the more recognition my shop will acquire....

I've also joined the fPoE photo exchange....so far, I think we're only considering this once a year (its our first year of doing this, so the details are still being worked out) but I signed on to do exchanges with two other members. The idea is we send each other a 5 x 7 of a piece either in our shops, or not listed...along with a brief synopsis of who we are and what we like, etc etc. Its just another way for the members to get to know one another.

Basically, I am spending a lot more time on Etsy now...which, I figure, is the best way to get myself out there. I am trying to do my own Treasury listing twice a week (to start...the trick is to not fall in love with and want to buy everything you find to "Treasure"!) I've noticed that if someone likes your Treasury, it brings them back to your shop...not to mention that the people you include in that Treasury tend to check you out as well...which is where a lot of my latest faves have come from.

Its only a matter of time before I make that first sale....not that I am in it for the money (though I won't say no to it!)...its just a neat feeling to know that something you took will be up on someone's walls someday.

The list keeps growing....

I've been included in a few more Treasuries....here are all the ones I've been in to date (don't feel you have to look!):


"Chess Set" has been added to the following Treasury...third row down, on the right.

"Sorrow" has been added to this Treasury, and is on the top far right.

"Lake Sunset in Orange" can be found here, top row far right.

"Antique Crow can be found in this Treasury, third row down, third from the left.

"Warehouse Window" can be found listed here, third row down, second from left.

"Mirror, Mirror" can be found here, top row, third from left and here, third row down on the left.

"Blue Window" can be seen here, top row, far right.

Another Treasury.....Hooray!

A new print was selected for a new Treasury, endearingly called "Home Home on the Range". You can find the Treasury here. The print is "Purple Fields" and its the third one over on the top row.

Etsy is seriously becoming my new favorite site....it certainly gives a bit of a boost to one's morning!

Yahoo!

I've been added to yet another Treasury on Etsy (this can get to be pretty addicting!)

I am not on my laptop where I can take a screen print, but you can find the treasury listing here. There are some really good shots in this one..... mine is the third row down, second photo from the left ("Warehouse Window")

Note (hour later): I've been added to yet another treasury....this one can be found here. This one is for all black and white images. Mine is "Mirror Mirror" which is the third row down, first one on the left.

Need. To. Get. A. Grip.

One of the pictures I uploaded to my Etsy store yesterday has been included in a Treasury (a grouping of items that someone pulls together as "suggestions" of the cool things they have found that somehow tie together). These Treasuries randomly pop up on the front page of Etsy, as well as go into a stockpile of lists for people to search through. You can see the listing for yourself here.

(mine is "Blue Window" by fiftytwo, far right, top row)

I feel soooooooo like Sally Field right now ("You like me, you really, really like me!)

Oh, and that gal emailed back this morning and is definitely interested in the 5 warehouse door/window prints I currently have listed in my shop (its a series, one of which is "Blue Window"). She wants to see the couple other shots I have from the same series and then wants me to create a special listing of 8 x 10s for her to purchase.... Hooray!!!!!!

I'd be up dancing a jig if it wasn't for my back, but I am definitely jumping up and down and squealing my head off on the inside!

Me by the sea...

Got another song stuck in my head today. I have been dreaming of the ocean again....I know I'll get to see the Atlantic (for the first time!) next fall, but am wishing I could take a long weekend to zip to the beach....just to walk around and sink my toes in the sand.



Amazing song....its by Edie Brickell when she was with the New Bohemians, and before she married Paul Simon. The song is called "Me By The Sea" and its from one of my favorite albums, "Ghost of a Dog". Definitely worth listening to.

Okay, so I know the header image isn't of the ocean, but rather of Utah Lake, but I wanted to point out that since I am not getting around to putting crafts up on my Etsy account, that I've gone ahead today and posted a bunch of my photography. I am snapping pictures so much lately that I figured I might as well see how well they do. Even if they don't sell, I am still proud to have them on there. You can check them out here. I should redesign my site banner, since I am not currently offering "original designs", but oh well.....

Later note: well the pictures have been up for only a couple of hours and I have a gal who wants a package of all of my door/window images and is interested in seeing any others that I have... so now I need to go through my files tomorrow and see what I have that is sell-able! Hooray! Even if this is the only sale I'll ever get, this is an amazing feeling!